HIGHLIGHTS

On Wednesday morning, Puttamarajuvari Kandriga, or PR Kandriga, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, was busy making preparations ahead of their God's visit.

The 400-odd people of this village may not have seen the God of cricket bat on field, but off field Sachin Tendulkar became their God or 'devadu' after he adopted the village and transformed it in two years.

PR Kandriga today is a model village with well-laid out roads, 24x7 water supply, street lighting, a community hall, a playground, and a school for children.

Two years ago, when Tendulkar first visited the village in November, all it had were mud roads and crumbling huts.

"We feel proud when people our village Sachin's village. We are thankful to him for all that he has done for us," said Rajaiah, a villager.

As news of Tendulkar's visit spread, people from neighbouring villagers flocked PR Kandriga to get a glimpse of the cricketer.

"Our neighbouring villages want to become like us. We have toilets, water, electricity and well laid-out roads and good houses," said Avinash, who is studying BCom and is one of the youths in the village who can speak English.

The number of children going to school has increased after Tendulkar adopted the village, which is roughly 150 km from Chennai. Most villagers earn their living through horticulture, pisciculture and animal husbandry.

During his visit, Tendulkar inaugurated the community hall and spoke to the villagers. He had adopted PR Kandriga under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in 2014.

"I am very happy to see the village transform. It is a proud moment for us that PR Kandriga has been declared an open defecation free village," Tendulkar said. The construction of toilets in the village has also helped check various diseases.